BROOMFIELD, Colorado—Despite the division and fear resulting from an acrimonious election, does a presidential election itself influence patterns in hotel demand?
Now that Republican nominee Donald Trump has won the 2016 U.S. presidential election, STR, parent company of HNN, looked back on the past seven elections and studied room-demand trends for the 12-month periods before and after the election, with particular focus on those that represented a change in administration.
No clear patterns emerged, and the prevailing conclusion is this: a president ultimately inherits whatever hotel economy was in place when they were elected. Cases in point: George W. Bush in 2000, and Barack Obama in 2008. The hotel economy was already in steep, downward slides when both of them were elected.
There’s no clear evidence an election itself reshapes the landscape for hotel demand, though the specific implementation of policies may be a different story.
This article represents an interpretation of data collected by STR, parent company of HNN. Please feel free to comment or contact an editor with any questions or concerns.